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Peter Hook Admits He Used to Forge Ian Curtis' Signature

Many artists and athletes worry whether their signature has been forged on pieces of memorabilia. But Joy Division fans should be the ones doing the worrying now that New Order bassist Peter Hook has admitted to Clash Music that he used to sell Joy Division merchandise bearing a forged autograph by deceased lead singer Ian Curtis. Hook says he did the faking himself, partially for the money but also "as a joke." Hook finally admitted his misdeeds after finding one of his forgeries at a Manchester record shop.

"I did have a reputation for doing Ian Curtis' autograph for a long time" he admitted to Contact Music. "There's some guy who had An Ideal For Living and it was signed by all four members of the band and dated. I went in and said, 'Have you not noticed that the date is after Ian died?' It was me, I did them as a joke!"

Currently, there are no Ian Curtis autographs being auctioned on eBay, so maybe this was just a few isolated cases. Still, if someday you encounter an autographed Closer, buyer beware: Curtis died two months before that album ever hit selves.

The rest of the New Order crew have recently assembled the new band Bad Lieutenant with drummer Stephen Morris, Blur bassist Alex James and guitarist Jake Evans.